The present invention relates to apparatus for connecting an artificial tree limb to the trunk of an artificial tree and more particularly to an easily removable connection between an artificial bough and the trunk of an artificial Christmas tree.
Today millions of artificial Christmas trees of various types are used each Holiday Season. Most of these trees are made to be disassembled so they can be stored away in a relatively small space until the next Holiday Season. The boughs and trunks of most artificial trees are made of molded plastic material and the boughs are attached to the trunk of the tree by plugging or screwing the end of the bough into a cylindrical, conical, hexagonal or threaded hole in the trunk of the plastic tree.
Such plastic-to-plastic joinder of bough to tree trunk has not proved entirely satisfactory. The cantilevered weight of the bough, especially when lights and ornaments are hanging from the bough, is often too much for the joint to bear, resulting in splitting, cracking or deformation of the trunk and/or the bough stem at the point of joinder with the trunk. Also, the joint usually cannot prevent undesired rotation or turning of the bough about the axis of its stem, causing misalignment of the generally flat bough with the other boughs of the tree.
Once the originally designed joinder between the bough and the tree trunk has been ruptured, whether by cracking or deformation of the hole in the trunk or by breaking or deformation of the stem of the bough, it becomes very difficult if not impossible to reassemble the tree the following Holiday Season. Thus the user of the artificial tree is dissatisfied with a tree which he expected to retain its original form for many years, rather than just one.
My invention provides an improved connection between a bough and the trunk of an artificial tree--a connection that will not split or deform the tree trunk or the bough, that locks the bough into a predetermined position from which it cannot rotate or slip, and that can be quickly and easily assembled or disassembled. Moreover, my unique connection is quite inexpensive and adds very little to the cost of manufacture of an artificial tree while guaranteeing the useful life of the tree for many years.
Basically, my bough-to-trunk connection includes three major components: a cylindrical stem plug designed to be cast or screwed into the plastic trunk of an artificial tree; an elongated bough end fixture; and a ring-shaped internally threaded connector for joining together the bough fixture and the stem plug. These three components may be made of brass, steel or high strength plastics such as Delrin.
The outer surface of the stem plug is threaded and a cylindrical hole is drilled axially in the front face of the plug. A plurality of V-shaped seats are cut or cast in the front face of the plug arranged circumferentially around the axial hole.
The bough end fixture has a cylindrical base, an axially centered stem projecting from the front face of the base and a plurality of V-shaped teeth on the front face of the base circumferentially spaced around the axial stem. These teeth are designed to fit into the V-shaped seats in the front face of the plug and the stem is designed to fit into the hole in the front face of the plug. A cyindrical shaft extends from the rear face of the fixture's base and a hole is drilled axially in this shaft. The end of the artificial bough is affixed to this shaft and its axial hole.
The connector is designed to encircle and hold together the joined fixture and plug by internal threads which mesh with the threaded outer surface of the plug and by an annular flange at the rear of the connector which bears against the rear face of the fixture. Preferably the outer surface of the connector is knurled to provide for easy assembly and disassembly of the threaded connection between the ring-shaped connector and the stem plug.